Precipitation of cobaltic hydroxide



Patented June 5, 1945 PRECEITATION F COBALTIC 'Albert Edward Wallis and De Witt Henry West, Clydach, Swansea, England, assignors to" The International Nickel Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application January 19,1943, Serial In Great Britain November 28,

6 claims. (cl. 23-133) The present invention relates to the production of cobaltic hydroxide from liquors or mixed salts in which the. cobalt is present as the chloride or the sulphate.

Various methods have been employed in the I prior art for precipitating cobaltic hydroxide from liquors containing salts of both cobalt. and of nickel. One method involves the use of hypoehlorites of the alkali metals or alkaline earth metals while the other method involves the use of nickeiic hydroxide. This latter method provides advantages in comparison with the other prior art methods in that the resultant solution of nickel salts is pure enough to be used directly for the production of nickel sulphate However, the crude cobaltic hydroxide'cake produced in this latter method invariably contain's insoluble nickel compounds in amounts such that the cake must be redissolved in acids and then the cobalhc hydroxide must be reprecipitated by other reagents, for example, by alkalies and hypochlorites. The cake of cobaltic hydroxide produced by precipitation with nickelic hydrox ide invariably contains from 10 to 50% or more of insoluble nickel compounds. r

As those skilled in the art know, the hypochlorite method provides a, cobaltic hydroxide of greater purity than can be obtained by precipitation of the cobalt with nickel compounds. l-lowever the filtrate in the fhypochlorite method is not suitable for preparation of nickel salts. On

the other hand, while the cobaltic hydroxide produced by precipitation with nickel compounds is not of as high purity as that produced in the hypochlorite method, the filtrate is suitable for direct production or nickel salt. One of the important advantages of the present invention is that cobaltic hydroxide of as high purity as that produced by the hypochlori method can be produced and in addition the filtrate is suitable for the direct production of nickel salt. 7

It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for recovering cobalt from liquors or salts containing nickel as well as cobalt in water soluble form.

It is another object of the present invention to recover cobalt from mixtures containing cobalt and nickel as cobaltic hydroxide containing uppreciably less than 10% of nickel it is a further object of the present invention to. provide a means forrecovering cobalt as oobaltic hydroxide from mixtures containing cobalt and'nickel wherein the pH of the reaction is maintamed within critical limitsto provide a first precipitate of cobaltic hydroxide containing less than about 10% of nickel.

The present invention also has as an object the production of cobaltic hydroxide of high purity and the production of a solution suitable for the direct production of nickel salt.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description,

Broadly stated, the present invention provides a' means for precipitating cobaltic hydrom'de of much greater purity with respect to nickel than can be obtained in the prior art process employing nickel compounds as precipitants. The invention involves maintaining the pH of the reaction medium certain critical In prior art practice the process of precipitating cobaltic hydroxide by the addition of nickelic hydioxide to the aqueous solufion of a. cobalt salt 1 the pH value of the medium was generally within the range of about pH 3.0 to about pH 4.0. A

' liquor containingnickel and cobalt in'the ratio of 8:1 when treated in accordance-with prior art practice to precipitate cobaltic hydroxide by the addition of nickelic hydroxide would generally yield a cobaltic hydroxide precipitate containing from 15 to 20% nickel calculated on the metallic cobalt content of the hydroxide precipitate. 0n the other hand, a. liquor inwhich the nickel cobelt ratio is the same as set forth hereinbefore 0 when treated in accordance with the principles of the present invention will'yield a cobaltic hydromde precipitate having a nickel content based upon the' metallic content of the precipitate of only about 4%. Such a cobaltic hydrom'de prees-cipitate containing only about 4% nickel may be used industrially without further purification.

' 0n the other hand, a cobaltic hydroxide precipitate containing 15 to 20% nickel as produced by prior art practice must be further purified before 40 it is acceptable for industrial use.

. In the practice of the present invention liquors containing 40 to 140 grams per liter of nickel and from 6 to 30 grams per liter of cobalt can be successfully treated to produce cobaltic hydroxide precipitates containing as little as 4% nickel and r a maximum of 20% nickel in contrast to a mimmum of 10% and a maximum of or more of nickel in cobaltic hydroxide precipitated by nickelic hydroxide at pH 3.0-pH 4.0. The cobalt 50 is precipitated from the aqueous. solution by the addition of a hydrated nickel oxide having the formula NizmdfinO which in solution acts as a ydroxide having the formula Ni2(OH) c. In order to obtain the novel results provided by the present invention, the preciptation of the cobaltic hydroxide ta kesplacef in the pH is eontrtiledganuimamtained betweq tne limits-of about pH I to about pH- 2.4"andp'refrably pH 1.8. That is'to'say, it is preferred to maintain-dime nil-9f. thesolutionat nit-close topH, 1.8. The, adiqstlnent oi the pH oi the medium;

may take place before, during or after the addition of the nickel hydroxide precipitant but it is preferred to adjust the pH value after theaddition. of thenickel hydroxide precipitant.

If the original liquor or solution or mixed salts contains iron, this may be remoifed ii it is desired by any; convenient method before thecobaltichm droxide is precipitated. If the iron is not-.r,e-

movediitwill reniain associated with the cobalt and willbaprecipitated together with the cobalt asferric'hydroxide. I I

The rreaction may be carried out at any conand maintaining said aque cobalt salts to precipitate cobalt as a hydroxide whilst maintaining said aqueous solution at a pH venient temperature but preferably the te'mpera-.

Pure 91 the reaction is held betweenabout 40 and dssetiforth hereinbefore, the present invention brovides improved results even when the liquors p'e'r litera'nd' the highest nickel ratios to cobalt th at are, customarily met'iin industry. -Even when the ratio of nickel to cobalt is the highest within the limitsset forth hereinbefore the cobalt precipitate will contain only'abo'ut 40% as much nickel a' 's cobalt precipitated under the conditions previously considered satisfactory.

example, under conditions ofnickel to cobalt ratio hich' under prior art. practice would have 1 lprbdu ed cobalt hydroxide precipitatescontaintreated contain as much as 140 grams of nickel Thus, for

between about pH 1.0 and about pH 2.4 and a temperature of about C. to about 60 C.

. 3. A process for precipitating cobalt as a hydroxide which comprises adding hydrated nickel 'oxide to an aqueous'solution containing soluble cobalt salts to precipitate cobalt hydroxide whilst maintaining said aqueous solution at a pH of about 1.8. x v

' 4. A process for precipitating cobalt as a hy- 'droxide which comprises adding hydrated nickel oxide to an aqueous solution containing soluble cobalt salts to precipitate cobalt hydroxide whilst regulating the temperatureofsaicl aqueous solu- 5 5 tion between about 40 0'. and about 60 Caand Whilst mai'ntainin 'aqueous solution.

5. A process for precipitating'cobaltic hydroxide which comprises establishing an aqueous solug a pH 'oi about 1.8 in said bout 50% or more nickel basedjupon the me: '35 tion containing t0 4 grams p liter nickel in a tafiic .cobalt 'ontent'of the precipitate, cobalt hydr xideiprecipitates-can be produced in accord-- an c; with the present process containing no't mer thaii about 20%jnickel.- 1

Altho'ugif'the present invention has been de 40 scribed'j'in. conjunction with certain preferred einbodiinents thereof, those skilldfin the artfwill understand fthatfmodiflcationsand variations may be made therein; fSuch variations and modand about 6 to about 30 grams per liter of cobalt 'and precipitating cobalt'hydroxide by the addition of nickelic hydroxide whilst maintaining a pHot about 1.0toabout2.4. v

6.. The process as set forth in claim 5 wherein the pH is adjusted after the addition of the 'nickelic'hydroxida' Q J A. E. WALLIS.

DE W; H. WEST.

iflcations are toiie eebsiaer'ed within; the purview 01' the speciiicati.bn'and thescope of the ap 

